Wednesday, March 17, 2010

New criminal regime for youth?

I'd like to see the actual bill to see how it works -- earlier press releases (e.g. the two for one sentencing reforms) were materially different from what the press releases said. Still, major changes are proposed:

http://tinyurl.com/yc65nry


The Conservative government is proposing changes for teenagers convicted of serious crimes that could result in their names being publicized and evidence from previous encounters with the law used in sentencing.

Overhauling the Youth Criminal Justice Act had been a cornerstone of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's re-election platform, and yesterday his government tabled a bill that follows through on that promise, putting a greater emphasis on protecting the public rather than rehabilitating young offenders.

In effect, teenagers as young as 14 convicted of violent offences could be sentenced as adults and their identities no longer shielded.

The proposed changes would also permit sentencing judges to take into account evidence of previous "extrajudicial sanctions" that did not result in criminal convictions, but rather community-based sanctions.

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